PIA resumes flights to Iran after five-year hiatus  

Islamabad: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has Thursday resumed direct flights to Iran after a five-year gap to develop people-to-people contacts and boost tourism industry.

Abdullah Khan, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s national flag carrier told , Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the first PIA flight departed from Lahore to Mashhad on Wednesday night (December 29).

Reportedly, direct flights from Karachi to Mashhad will begin on January 1 next year.

In a tweet, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mohammad Ali Hosseini revealed that the two countries have agreed increasing efforts to promote air cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. 

Earlier this month Chief Executive of PIA, Marshal Arshad Malik during a meeting with Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan had announced that the PIA is going to start direct flights from Lahore to Mashhad.

With the launch of direct Karachi-Mashhad flights, movement of different groups of the two neighbors to each other's countries will increase—including pilgrims to holy places in Iran, and exchange of trade and commerce delegations.